Chapter 1

Chapter One

“Santa!”

Excitement coursed through Taylor Dawson’s veins as her cheers joined the rest of the crowd around her. It didn’t matter that she knew ‘Santa’ personally, and that she’d actually had a sleepover at his apartment the night before. He was no longer just Dominic, her best friend’s goofball of a Daddy.

Now he was Santa.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, her own Daddy laughed at her exuberance. “Have you been a good girl this year, Tayter Tot?”

“Of course I have!” But doubt wiggled through, and she nibbled her bottom lip as she looked up at Ian through her lashes. “Haven’t I?”

“Hmm.” Pulling her closer, he scrunched up his face as he pretended to think about it. “You have been pretty well behaved the past few months. Probably because Carly’s been too tired to think up any good pranks.”

There was some truth to that. One of her other best friends in the whole word, Carly Crawford, had been pretty much out of commission for any naughtiness since she’d given birth to her bouncing baby girl back in October. Between Carly’s new baby and the holidays, their entire friend group had more or less been on their best behavior recently. At least when they were together. Noelle got herself in plenty of trouble at home, despite having the most laid-back Daddy of the bunch, and Ginny couldn’t seem to go more than five minutes without intentionally getting under her Daddy’s skin. Which wasn’t all that different from how they’d been before they’d hooked up, except now Rex could spank her when she needled him.

And he took advantage of that privilege on a regular basis, from what Taylor had heard.

Then there was Jesse, who had both a Mommy and a Daddy to answer to. But they were all off in New Zealand, wrapping up filming on new movie Jesse was starring in, so nobody had really gotten to talk to her all that much. Or her mommy, Edie, who had been something of an honorary Auntie to the rest of the Littles in their group.

Taylor missed her every single day.

“Aw, baby. What’s wrong?” Ian pulled a hand free to wipe at the tears that had leaked from Taylor’s eyes without her even realizing it.

“I was just thinking how much I miss Edie. And Jesse. And everyone.”

“Poor Tayter Tot. I know it’s been hard having her gone so much. But you’ll see her at New Year’s.”

“That’s ages away.” She knew she was whining, but she couldn’t seem to help it. She’d already been slipping into her Little space because of the Christmas parade, and thinking about how much she missed all her friends certainly hadn’t helped.

“It’s just a few more weeks, baby.” Ian’s voice was full of patience. “Look, the parade is almost over. Why don’t we go get some hot chocolate while we wait for Noelle and Dom?”

The promise of her favorite winter treat helped shake off some of the blues. “With marshmallows?”

“Of course.”

“And whipped cream?”

Doing his best to look stern, Ian raised an eyebrow. “Taylor…”

“I know, I know,” she said with an exaggerated sigh. “One or the other.”

“Good girl.”

As always, her Daddy’s praise made her heart beat a little faster. But as they walked toward the coffee shop where they’d agreed to meet up with Noelle and Dom after the parade, her mind drifted back to their earlier conversation.

She really had been a very good girl lately. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten an actual spanking. There had been plenty of the sexy kind that got her blood pumping before she jumped her man’s bones, and the odd swat here or there when she got mouthy, but when was the last time she’d had a good, hard punishment?

The fact that she couldn’t remember told her it had been far too long.

Maybe it was time to fix that.

His Little girl was up to something. Normally she’d be a ball of excitement, talking nonstop about the parade and how much fun it had been to see ‘Santa’, pestering him for hints about the Christmas presents he’d strategically hidden around the house.

But not today. Taylor was completely silent the entire walk from the parade route to the coffee shop Dom frequented. It was far enough out of the way of the parade that it wasn’t completely packed, though there were still plenty of people milling about.

Taking their place in line, he slipped his arms around Taylor’s waist again, pulling her back against him. Not because he was worried she might slip away to find trouble—that was more his sister Noelle’s style—but simply because he enjoyed the feel of his woman in his arms. Given the warm spell they’d been experiencing, they’d both opted to just wear sweaters instead of coats, which meant he could feel every inch of her curvy body pressed tight against his.

Every. Single. Inch.

Dipping his head, he dropped his voice low for only her to hear. “What do you say we get our drinks and get out of here? Take a raincheck on our evening with Dom and Noelle?”

Taylor’s sweet giggle told him exactly what her answer was going to be before she shook her head. “No! We promised!”

“I’m sure they won’t mind.”

Tilting her head back, she grinned up at him, mischief sparkling in the bright blue of her eyes. “You’re right. I’m sure Dom would be perfectly happy to get his little elf home so he can peel that costume from her?—”

Maybe it made him a hypocrite since he was dating his little sister’s best friend, but the thought of anyone doing those things to Noelle made him want to gag. Or punch the man doing them. And since his sister was just as likely to return the punch, he resisted the urge.

Mostly.

In an attempt to distract himself from what Dom and Noelle may or may not be doing after the parade, he tightened his hold on Taylor’s waist. “You’re going to pay for that later, little girl.”

As he’d hoped, her next inhale was a tiny bit sharper than before. “Oh?”

“Mmhmm. It’s very naughty to tease your Daddy.”

Before she could answer, the woman behind the counter called them forward. “Next!”

Ruby, according to the name on her tag, greeted them with a grin as they stepped up to the counter. “What can I get started for you folks?”

“Two medium hot chocolates, please,” he told her. “With marshmallows.”

“Whipped cream on mine!” Taylor bounced on her toes, excitement beaming from her face.

So that’s what his naughty girl had been plotting.

“Names?” Ruby asked, her marker poised over the cup.

“Ian and Taylor. And just marshmallows is fine for both, thanks.”

Raising her brows, Ruby jotted a name down on the first cup. “One hot chocolate with marshmallows for Ian.” She placed his cup in the line on the counter. “And one hot chocolate with marshmallows and extra whipped cream for Ms. Taylor.”

“Yay!” More bouncing from his babygirl. “Thank you, Ruby!”

“No problem, sweetheart.” The smile she flashed was a little too bright, a little too sharp to be considered anything less than lethal. “Anything else I can get you folks? We have some chocolate and peppermint cookies, fresh from Rev and Roll.”

“Oh, that sounds amazing! Yes, please!”

Not even bothering to sigh, Ian handed over his credit card when Ruby rang them up. “Merry Christmas, Taylor!” she called after them as they moved down the counter to wait on their drinks.

“That was very naughty, Taylor Grace,” he murmured in Taylor’s ear while they waited for their order to be ready. “What did Daddy say when you asked if you could have marshmallows and whipped cream?”

Even from the side, he could see her cheeks turn pink. “Umm… I don’t remember.”

“Uh-huh. Well, I hope we can find a free table where you can sit and enjoy your treats because once we get home I can promise you won’t feel like sitting the rest of the night.”

Her head jerked up, and even though her mouth was hanging open in shock, he could see the excitement dancing in her eyes. “That’s not fair!”

“What’s not fair?”

As one, they turned to find Noelle and Dom watching them. Noelle, dressed like one of Santa’s elves, was scowling at them with her arms crossed while her Daddy stood to the side, his usual easy grin on his face. He’d lost the beard and Santa hat, thankfully, though he was still wearing the suit.

“None of our business, sugar plum,” Dom said, his tone as easy as his smile. But he laid a hand on the back of Noelle’s neck in subtle warning.

A warning she ignored, as usual.

“It is my business if my brother can’t take the stick out of his?—”

“Noelle.”

This time the warning was clear in Dom’s voice, and for once Noelle heeded it, though she did so with an indignant huff. “Fine.”

“Good girl,” Dom said, his smile warming with approval. “Come on, let’s go get some hot chocolate.”

Everything about Noelle seemed to light up, reminding Ian why he put up with knowing the things he knew about their relationship. “With marshmallows and extra whipped cream?”

“Of course, sugar plum.”

Taylor’s expression turned sulky as their friends took their place in line. “ Noelle doesn’t have to choose between toppings.”

Not for the first time, he was torn on how to respond.

On the one hand, Taylor genuinely seemed to love it when he was strict. After all, she’d been the one to introduce him to the whole idea of being her Daddy and giving her rules and punishments. The stricter he was, the happier and less stressed his Little girl seemed.

But he couldn’t help but wonder if sometimes he was just an asshole, like Noelle often said. Did it really matter if she had a little extra sugar with her hot chocolate? It was a treat, after all.

So if he was just being overbearing, should he forgo punishing her for blatantly ignoring him after he’d told her no? Or did it not matter if he was being unreasonable? She had defied him, and that was clearly against their rules. But he hated the idea of punishing her for something that was potentially his fault in the first place.

Fuck, this Daddy thing was complicated sometimes.

“We’ll talk about it at home.” There. That would buy him some time to think, and give Taylor something to squirm about the rest of the evening.

Best of both worlds.